The invention concerns an arrangement and method for spreading flexible record disks at a selected point of a rotating stack of magnetic record disks.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,940,794 and 3,838,462 show an arrangement for spreading a rotating pack of flexible magnetic record carriers, which consists of a partitioning blade. As the disk-shaped record carriers are closely spaced in an axial direction, in order to obtain a very space-saving data storage system with a high storage volume, the usual transducer cannot reach the record storage surfaces without spreading the flexible record carriers. Thus, it is necessary to deflect the flexible record carriers from their plane of rotation, to afford the magnetic head access and entry to the selected storage position. In known arrangements, a partitioning blade is initially radially introduced relatively deeply into the rotating pack or is inserted into the same by means of an arcuate movement, thus creating the access opening into which the transducer head is simultaneously or subsequently introduced.
Even in cases where spreading is effected with the aid of the air exiting from the partitioning blade, a partitioning blade introduced into a stack of disks invariably entails the risk of the flexible record carriers and the partitioning blade touching each other. Such unwanted contact is scarcely avoidable when a partitioning blade is introduced relatively deeply into the disk stack, particularly in the case of failures of the disk stack drive. This type of unwanted contact may lead to serious damage and destruction of the recording areas of the disk storage, not to mention the risk of the partitioning blade or the transducer being damaged.
The IBM Technical Bulletin article by B. W. McGinnis, Vol. 17, No. 12, May 1975, Page 3670 in FIGS. 6 and 7 shows producing a partial opening for accommodating a transducer. A rotating air driven wheel is inserted radially for short distances by activating a moving coil actuator. An essential feature of this separator are the points "1" in the article.